Street and station indicator.



H. W. LEWIS.

STREET AND STATION INDICATOR.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 27, 1914.

lglg'@ l Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

gmveutoz "HE MORRIS PETERS CG., PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, IJ. C

H. W` LEWIS.

STREET AND STATION INDGATOB.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 27. 1914.

1.1273461. Patented Feb.9,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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THE NURRIS PETERS C0.. PHnTc-L/rMU WASHINGTGN. D. c

H. W. LEWIS.

STREET AND STATION INDGATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 1914,

1,127,461. Peeeeted Feb. 9, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEBT 3.

THE MORRIS PETERS CO.. PHoTO-LITHQ. WASHlNuIorL D. CA

i ff' TE man HENRY W. LEWIS, OF ,INDIANAPOLS INDIANA.

STREET AND STATION INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed January 27, '1914. ySerialtNo, 814,773.

T @ZZ lwhom t may concern Be it .known that I, HENRY lV. Lewis, a citizen of the United States, residing at -Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, `have invented new and useful Improvements in Street andStation Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a street and sta.- tion indicator' for railroad cars, the primary object thereof being to provide an indicator which is adapted to be actuated by trackstrip devices disposed in advance of street crossings or stations so asto indicate these stopping points upon approachingthe same.

A further object of the invention is rto provide a device of this character' which successivcly indicates the street crossings or stations on the line in their proper order upon movement of the car in a reverse direction. Y

A still further object is'the provision of a device of the class described which is of the simplest possible construction so as to ren der the same inexpensive to manufacture and capable of being installed readily and cheaply and which at the same time, will be durable and efficient in operation.

The invention consists in the features of construction, combina-tion and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional `view taken through a railroad track and car mounted thereon, showing the trackl trip ldevice in inoperative position. Fig. 2 isa similar view showing the trip device in operative position as caused by engagement of a zar wheel therewith when the car is traveling in one direction. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing' the track trip device in operative engagement with the car-carried yindicating mechanism when the car is moving in reverse direction. Fig. 'il is a transverse sectional view through the car-carried indicating mechanism, a portion thereof being broken away. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on line 5 5 ofFig. 1. Fig. 6 isla de- 'ail perspective view of the actuating .mechanism for the forward movement ratchet wheel of the indicator drum. fFig. 7 `is a similar view of the actuating' mechanism for the reverse movement ratchet wheel. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view, `taken through a portion of th-e car,

showingthe street indicator in fragmentary side l elevation.

ln the drawings,.the numeral `1 indicates thebody of .a streetvrailway car which has the street andvstation indicating mechanism 2 4mounted therein. Lilhis fmechanism includes a pair of drumsand #i which are rotatably mounted in the bearing standards 5 ,and k6, and an endless indicating belt 7 constructed 4of 4woven ,fabric or other vmaterialwhichbears thenamesof the respective street crossings or stations and which is adapted tobe operated-step by step around the said drums bythe means provided for the purpose, as the'car advances along the track. Onestretch of this belt is adapted to pass, during itsvpassage from one-drum to the other, over alroller 8 and around a second roller 9, both of which are j ournaled in suitable bearingslO and 11, respectively, so thatlit will pass through an exhibiting casing 12 positioned in the front wall 13 of the car in rear of the motormans compartment and `which `is provided with a View opening ltthrough which the successively displayed names may be viewed bythe passengers in the car. FThe axles 15 and 16 of the drums l and 4, respectively,are provided at adjacent ends thereof with pulleys 17 and 18 which are connected by a belt 19 which is intended to cause the drums to operate liointly in a positive manner. n The axle 16 of the drum d isprovided at its end opposite` to the end upon which the pulleyilS is mountedwith a pair of ratchet wheels, which are indicated by the numerals 2O and 21, and whose teeth 22 and 23, respectively, are oppositely raking, the said ratchet wheels bein-g fixedly secured to the axle. A transversely extending horizontal rock shaft 24 is journaled in suitablelbearings 25 and has an arm 2G which extends outwardly in the plane of t-he ratchet wheel 20. A vertically movable dog 27, which is constructed preferably of resilient metal has its lower end connected tothe freeend of the arm 26, as at 28, this end of the dog being in the form of a spring coil, which renders the engaging end 29 thereof radially yieldable with respect to the axle 1G and maintains the same normally in engagement with the teeth 22 of the ratchet wheel 20. A radially yieldable locking tongue 30 is attached at its lower end, as at 31, to the frame of the` car in close proximity to the dog 27 outwardly with respect thereto and has its engaging end y32 normally in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 2O immediately above the engaging extremity 29 of the dog. This locking tongue 30 is adapted normally to lock the said ratchet wheel against retrograde movement, whereas the dog 27 is adapted to impart movement to the said. ratchet wheel in the direction of the arrow a upon corresponding movement of the rock shaft 24. A second arm 33 projects outwardly from the rock shaft 24 and has its free end connected by means of a transverse pin 34 with the adj acent end of a vertically, movable lever 35, the said pin being engaged within the longitudinal slot 36 in the said end of the lever 35. This lever is pivoted at 37 so that itis movable in a plane parallelto'the plane of the arm 33. The opposite end. of the lever 35 is connected in similar manner, as at 38, with the upper end of a vertically slidable bar 39, to the lower end of which a shoe 40 is secured, the said bar being movable within the guides 39a. The construction of this shoe will be described more fully hereinafter. The bar 39 is disposed so that the shoe 40 will be located immediately inward with respect to the innermost wheels 41 of the adjacent car truck 42 and is located inward with respect to the right hand track rail 43, considering that the car is moving in the direction of the arrow Z) and in slightly spaced relation to the same.

A second horizontal rock shaft 44 is journaled in the bearings 45 inparallel relation to the shaft 24 and consequently the axle16 of the drum 4. An outwardly projecting arm 46 is provided upon the shaft 44 and has an operating dog 47 similar to the previously described dog 27 attached in like manner thereto so that its laterally yieldable engaging extremity 48 normally engages the teeth 23 of the ratchet wheel 21. A locking tongue 49 identical in construction to the locking tongue 30 is attached to the car frame, as at 50, and has its laterally yieldable engaging end 51 normally in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 21 directly above the engaging extremity of the dog 47. This locking tongue serves to prevent retrograde movement of the axle 16 during operation of the ratchet wheel 21 in the direction of the arrow c by the action of the dog 47. Agn inwardly projecting arm 52 is provided upon the shaft 44 and has its free end connected by means of a pin and slot connection such asis shown at 53, with the adjacent end of a lever 54, which latter is pivoted at 55 for movement in a vertical plane parallel to the plane of movement of the arm 52. A vertically slidable bar 56, which is mounted within the guides 57, is connected at its upper end by means of a pin and slot connection 58, and a shoe 59 similar to the shoe 40 is provided upon its lower end and is normally positioned at the same level as the latter. The shoe 59 is also disposed inwardly with respect to the adjacent truck wheel 41 and immediately in advance of the shoe 40.

Two angular tripping members 60 and 61 are pivotally mounted upon the axle 16. The member 60 is provided upon its arm 62 which extends forwardly from the axle 16 with an axial extension 63 for engagement with the inner face of the dog 47, whereby said dog will be forced outwardly and will move the locking tongue 49 similarly out of engagement with the teeth 23 of the ratchet wheel 21, upon movement of the tripping member 60 in the direction of the arrow c. The opposite arm 64 of the said tripping member, which projects rearwardly and downwardly from the axle 16 is provided with a longitudinal slot 65 for the reception of a transverse pin 66 provided in the adjacent end of a forwardly projecting arm 67 formed on the rock shaft 24. The tripping member 61 has an axial extension 68 provided upon its rearwardly projecting arm 69 for engagement with the dog 27, whereby the said dog and the locking tongue 30 will be moved into inoperative position in like manner upon movement of the tripping member 61 in the direction of the arrow a. The opposite arm 70 of the last named tripping member is connected with the free end of an upwardly and rearwardly projecting arm v71 provided. upon the rock shaft 44 by means of a pin and slot connection 72.

The shoe 40 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the bar 39 by means of the transverse pintle 73 and is provided with a limiting extension 74 projecting upwardly therefrom ,for engagement with the front face of the said bar, so that the said shoe will turn on its pivot when its rear face 75 becomes engaged with a track obstruction, but which will assume a rigid position with respect to the bar 39 so as to cause upward movement thereof upon engagement of a track obstruction with the opposite beveled face 76 of the shoe, during movement of the car in the direction indicated by the arrow ZJ. lThe shoe 59 is constructed identically the same as the shoe 40 but is disposed so that its beveled face 77 is opposite to the face 76 of the shoe 40 and is thus adapted to cause upward movement of the bar 56 upon becoming engaged by a track obstruction,

during movement of the carin the direction L.

of the arrow 5.

At a considerable distance in advance of each street crossing or station, preferably a few yards past the preceding street or station, as the case may be, a track trip device is positioned. Each of these devices consists of a rocking-member or lever T78 which is pivotally suspended beneath the right-hand track rail .lf3 by means of the pivoted member 79, a vertically movable engaging member 80 being provided upon the extremity of the longer arm 81 of the said lever, whose upper end is rounded, as at 82, for engagement with the shoes carried by the indicator mechanism of each car, and a vertically movable member 83 is provided upon the opposite shorter arm of the lever 7 8. The head 811 provided upon the upper end of the member 83 is disposed normally flush with the tread surface of the yrail against the inner face thereof so that the flanges of the car Wheels mounted upon the said rail will engage the same to cause depression thereof and thus throw the member 8O into its uppermost' operative position. rlhe end faces of the head 84k of the member 83 are beveled upwardly, as at 85, so as to cause the wheel flanges to ride onto the same without excessive shock or horizontal strain upon the said member. The member 78 is constructed slightly greater in length than a car truck and is disposed with its head Si in advance of the engaging member 8O in order that all the wheels of each truck will pass over the engaging member before the leading wheel of the truck rides onto the head 84. 1t should thus be evident that the engaging member cannot become caught in the low hanging portions of a car truck so as to cause damage to either. The engaging member 8O is adapted to be projected upwardly into the path of the beveled face 77 of the shoe 59 when one of the foremost wheels of the advance truck lf2 passes onto the head Se. The said head is constructed of such horizontal length that the said wheel will not leave the same until the other shoe 4t() has passed over the engaging shoe 80.

W hen a car equipped with the mechanism described above, advances along one track in a single track system, the track trip devices located in advance of the successive street crossings or stations will simply tilt the rearmost shoe 4T() carried bythe car, without actuating the corresponding face 7.7 of the foremost shoe 59 so as to cause upward movement of the operating bar 56.

This movement of the bar 5G will cause the lever l to roel: upon its pivot and thus impart opposite motion to the rock shaft eli, whereupon the dog #i7 will engage one of the teeth 23 of the ratchet wheel so as to rotate the ratchet wheel and consequently the shaft 16 in the direction of the arrow c, it being understood that the shoe 59 is normally in its lowermost position in order that the dog i7 will be in its lower-most position also. This ymovement of the axle 1G will cause the indicating sheet to move oney step as the said shoe rides over the=engagingme1nber of the tracktrip device. The name of the next succeeding stopping point is thus .exhibited through the view opening 11 of the casing 12. In this manner, `names of the successive streets willbeindicated for the passengers as the car advances along the track `in this direction.

In the event that the car should move backward for any reason so as to move over the track trip device'in advance of one of the rstations, the engaging member 8O of the trip device will become engaged operatively with'the beveled face 7 6 of the shoe 40 so as to causereverse operation of the axle 16 and the attached winding drum in a manner which should be readily underf stood. This-movement will cause the street indicating plate to move in the reverse direction so as to indicate the street `previously passed, a second time. It isA evident that this street will be indicated just before the car approaches it so that the passengers will begiven short warning, but this movement ofthe car would be an unusual occurrence. In casefthe railroad is a single track system and the cars move in both directions upon the track without being reversed end for end prior to each trip, it would become necessary to locate the track trip devices midway between stations or streets in order that proper warning should be given to passengers upon a car moving in either direction when a car is approaching a stopping point.

In single track systems, it often `proves desirable to reverse the position of each car after it has made a trip in one direction and before it makes the return trip. In order that the indicating mechanism will operate properly in such a case, a pairof auxiliary shoes 8G and 87, similar in construction to the previously described shoes el() and 59, are secured to the lower ends of the vertically slidable operating bars 88 and 89, respectively, mounted within the guides 90 and 91 provided adjacent to the, opposite side of each car. AThese shoes SG and 87 are disposed so that the beveled active faces 92 and 93 thereof face oppositely with respect to the beveled faces of the main shoes 59 and et() respectively. The upper end of the operating bar 58 is pivotally connected, as at 94C, to the adjacent end of a vertically movable lever 95 which latter is pivoted upon the transverse pin 9G for movement in a plane parallel to an operating arm 97 secured fixedly to the rock shaft ed, the meet-l ing ends of the lever 95 and arm 97 being connected pivotally, as at 9S. The upper end of the operating bar 89, however, is pivotally connected, as at 99, to the adjacent end of a vertically movable lever 100, the latter being mounted upon a` transverse pivot pin 101. The opposite end of the said vided upon the rock shaftbearing the other dog and connected operatively with the corresponding tripping arm.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a train-carried indicating apmratus including` a rotatably mounted axle, a naine-bearing element connected With the axle, a ratchet Wheel mounted fixedly upon the axle, a rock shaft journaled parallel to the said aXle, a lateral arm provided upon said rock shaft, a dog mounted upon Said arm and having a laterally yieldable t'ree extremity normally engaged With the teeth of the said ratchet wheel for operating the latter in one direction upon movement ot the rock shaft, a second ratchet Wheel connected iixedly With the axle, a second rock shaft journaled parallel to the said axle, a radial arm provided upon the lastnamed rock shaft, a second dog attached to the said arm and having a radially yieldable free extremity for engagement With the second ratchet Wheel to cause movement of the axle in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the firstnamed dog, means for moving each dog outwardly into inoperative position upon operative movement of the other dog, an operating device connected With the first rock shaft and adapted to oscillate the same upon being actuated, a second operating device connected operatively with the second rock shaft, and a locking paivl mounted outwardly of each dog and having a yieldable free eX- tremity normally engaging the corresponding ratchet Wheel, each locking paivl being adapted to be engaged loy the corresponding dog during its movement into inoperative position to be rendered inoperative thereby.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY W. LEVIS.

lVitnesses Lavinia LEWIS, JOHN WV. LEWIS.

Copies, of this: patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commssonler of Patents,

Washington, ID. C. 

